Govt orders subsidised power supply to deras

Our Correspondent

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Ludhiana, December 27

With the implementation of the code of conduct for the Punjab Assembly elections now expected anytime soon, the state government has directed the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) to provide subsidised power supply on the urban pattern to ‘deras and dhanis’ with immediate effect.

According to a commercial circular issued on December 23, the PSPCL headquarters instructed the Engineers-in-Chief and Chief Engineers (distribution system) to start connecting all deras and dhanis (hamlets) – having one house or a cluster of two or more houses — with the nearest urban power supply (UPS) feeders against the grant given by the government in advance.

Citing the instructions of the government, a circular issued by the Chief Engineer (Commercial) of the PSPCL says the updated clause 38.2 (ii) of the Electricity Supply Instructions Manual (ESIM) has been further amended to provide ‘Urban Pattern Supply (UPS)’ against the grant received in advance from the Punjab government to the deras and dhanis spread over a stretch of maximum of 300 metres and located at a distance of more than 500 metres from the village phirni, by providing a single phase 11-kV line tapped from the nearest UPS feeder and by installing 10-kVA distribution transformer.

The relevant clause of the ESIM has been further amended in this regard.

Elaborating on the procedure for giving power supply on the urban pattern to deras and dhanis, the circular says, “However, where two houses in a cluster are situated near to each other but are located at a stretch of maximum 300 metres from one end to the other end, a common single phase 11-kV line and 10-kVA distribution transformer shall be installed to reduce the capital cost of the project.”

In other cases, where two houses in a cluster are situated near to each other but are located on a stretch of more than 300 metres from one end to the other, a separate single phase 10-kVA distribution transformer shall be installed.

Senior PSPCL officials said the directions received from the headquarters had been passed on to the divisional and sub-divisional heads for implementation of the scheme.